Chapter 51 The shopkeeper stared at this hardware reversal...

The shopkeeper stared at the incredibly well-endowed body with increasing satisfaction, and gritted his teeth, saying, "How about I give you fifty coins for every piece of clothing like this I sell?"

Zhu Mingyue blinked, somewhat tempted.

Li Zhengyang was even more impatient than him. "Shopkeeper, what do you think of me? I can wear it too." That's fifty coins! He thought his daily wage of thirty-five coins was already very high. It turns out there are more opportunities in the county.

“You’re no good,” the shopkeeper shook his head desperately. Li Zhengyang was quite masculine, not only was he strong, but his face was also tanned dark from years of working with crops. If he wore those clothes out, what would be the difference between him and a pervert? Not only would he not attract customers, but he would also scare them away. Wouldn’t that be ruining his own reputation?

Li Zhengyang feigned regret, nudged Zhu Mingyue with his elbow, and whispered in his ear, "Just wear it! It won't hurt you." He was thick-skinned; he wanted to earn the money but couldn't. In his eyes, this was just giving money away for nothing!

Zhu Mingyue was still hesitating. It had to be said that the offer was indeed quite tempting. Fifty coins per person, five hundred coins for ten people, and one tael of silver for twenty people. He only needed to put on the clothes and walk around outside a few times. No matter how much he earned, it was no different from getting it for free.

But he was a man after all, so there was no reason for him to parade around in women's clothes.

Li Zhengyang was getting anxious seeing him still hesitating and wished he could make the decision for him immediately. He wanted to say a few more words of persuasion when Zhu Mingyue spoke up.

"Sixty coins," he said, pursing his lips, a little guilty.

To everyone's surprise, the shopkeeper answered very readily, "Deal!" as if afraid that Zhu Mingyue might change her mind.

Zhu Mingyue was stunned for a moment, realizing that her guilty conscience was completely unnecessary. The man in front of her was a cunning old fox; even if he took a commission of sixty coins, the other party would still make a profit.

This item, valued at just over one tael, already yielded such a considerable profit; one can only imagine how much that old fox could earn from the one he bought for Xie Pei.

He was even smugly pleased with himself, thinking he was a master at bargaining.

"Mingyue? Mingyue!" Li Zhengyang gently nudged his shoulder, bringing him back to his senses.

Li Zhengyang was even happier than if he had made the money himself, and was arguing with the shopkeeper on his behalf.

"No way!" he said firmly, his face flushed. "Who knows how many you sold? What if you make a fortune and then tell us you didn't sell a single one?"

Upon hearing this, the shopkeeper choked on his words, wanting to swear on his integrity that he would not hide anything. However, he seemed to realize that this tactic would not work on the other party, so he took a few deep breaths in anger and said in a good-natured manner, "Then what do you suggest?"

Li Zhengyang said, "Swear to God, and we will believe you."

Zhu Mingyue glanced at him, her lips moved as if she wanted to say that she didn't actually believe in oaths, but then she thought that it just didn't work on him, but it might not work on others. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been labeled a jinx by the villagers. So she simply let Li Zhengyang say what he wanted.

The shopkeeper was at his wits' end with Li Zhengyang. He hadn't expected this simple-minded big man to be even more difficult to deal with than Zhu Mingyue. He raised his hands above his head and said in a serious tone, "I, Zhu Youyin, swear that I will not withhold a single penny of the red-clothed share that is due to you."

Li Zhengyang nodded in satisfaction, completely relieved.

A quarter of an hour later, a woman in red appeared at the entrance of Fuyunji.

The woman appeared taller than the average woman, and her gait was slightly stiff. Her red dress, just ankle-length, swayed with each step, the hem blooming like a vibrant red peony – a pure and striking beauty that was pleasing to the eye. In just a few steps, she attracted the attention of many men and women on the street.

As the focus of many eyes, Zhu Mingyue was not as foolishly happy as Li Zhengyang; he only felt like he had a thorn in his side.

This money is really hard to earn!

In fact, he regretted it as soon as he stepped out the door. He felt that he didn't love money as much as he used to. He couldn't handle the experience of dressing up as a woman in front of everyone.

Zhu Mingyue wore a bright red veil that connected to her face veil, covering her entire head and lower half of her face, leaving only her bright, sparkling eyes that seemed to possess a touch of allure amidst their liveliness.

He was used to walking with big strides, so he was a little unaccustomed to walking with small steps. As a result, after a few steps, he reverted to his old ways. He took a big step in the air and then suddenly remembered, so he hurriedly pulled his foot back and twisted his ankle.

The beautiful woman twisted her ankle, and gasps of surprise rose from the crowd, with some even reaching out to help her up.

"Cough cough!" Li Zhengyang quickly helped him up, then looked around and coughed twice before raising his voice, "What's so good about these clothes from Fuyunji? The only thing that's nice is the color! Look at you, you can't even walk properly in them."

Zhu Mingyue glanced at him secretly, then reached behind him and gave him a hard pinch.

Li Zhengyang's expression changed, and he almost cried out in pain. He touched his head and dared not speak, secretly thinking: He just wanted to make more money, so he took advantage of the large crowd to run an advertisement!

Zhu Mingyue knew, of course, that he was advertising, but he was being far too obvious, it was simply... his vision blurred, it was just too shameless.

However, the effect was indeed quite good. Even though smart people knew they were blatantly advertising, the effect of wearing the clothes was truly amazing. After watching them walk away, several young ladies from wealthy families, accompanied by their maids, entered Fuyunji from among the onlookers.

In the blink of an eye, he had attracted these big clients, making the manager of Fuyunji extremely happy.

The county has no shortage of wealthy people; otherwise, he wouldn't have dared to transport so many high-end goods from Ganzhou all at once. He not only used Zhu Mingyue's name to sell quite a few red gauze dresses, but also tricked these innocent young ladies into buying many other clothes.

"Did that girl in red really buy this dress too?" A pretty young lady asked softly, pointing to a light blue brocade outer garment.

"Ah, right!" The shopkeeper nodded repeatedly, "They bought them! The clothes from our Fuyunji shop are beautiful. That young lady was spoiled for choice and ended up buying quite a lot!" He lied without batting an eye. As long as Zhu Mingyue didn't say anything, who would know that the packages they were carrying contained just a bunch of cheap cotton clothes?

He felt perfectly justified in taking advantage of Zhu Mingyue. Zhu Mingyue helped him sell a piece of clothing for sixty coins. Although there was still a lot of profit margin after deducting that amount, he was a businessman who was stingy and unwilling to give up a single coin. It was not easy for him to get a share of Zhu Mingyue's profits this time. Was he not allowed to get some back from other places?

The shopkeeper thought smugly, "Luckily, he was smart enough to only say that the red-clothed person would receive a share when he swore the oath..."

Achoo!

Li Zhengyang sneezed loudly, rubbed his nose, and muttered to himself, "The weather has been cold lately, I must have caught a cold." As he spoke, he silently moved a few steps away from Zhu Mingyue.

The two had already walked out of the street and went to the other side to buy some fruits and paper money for the sacrifice.

Li Zhengyang, carrying numerous packages of various sizes, was already struggling to walk despite his good stamina. Just then, he smelled the aroma of noodles wafting from the street and thought to himself, "Mingyue, let's go up ahead and rest for a while! I'll treat you to noodles."

Zhu Mingyue knew he was tired and wanted to rest, which suited him perfectly. He smiled and said, "Come with me for a while. I need to go into Nanfeng Pavilion later. Find a restaurant nearby to rest."

"Oh, okay!" Li Zhengyang nodded repeatedly. He didn't know what the Nanfeng Pavilion that Zhu Mingyue mentioned was, but it sounded quite grand.

After walking for about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, Li Zhengyang's expression became somewhat subtle. He had good eyesight and had learned some characters from the village school when he was young. He could see the unique plaque in front of him from afar, with the three large characters "Nanfeng Pavilion" written on it.

The key is not the words, but the fact that this Nanfeng Pavilion doesn't look like a proper place.

Where did Zhu Mingyue bring him here?! A crack appeared on Li Zhengyang's expression.

Zhu Mingyue, oblivious to everything, led him to a nearby restaurant, took the food box from his hand, informed him, and then entered Nanfeng Restaurant without looking back.

Li Zhengyang, who had been a virgin for nearly twenty years, began to question his life at this moment.

He glanced at Zhu Mingyue's graceful departing figure, then shifted his gaze to the food box in his hand.

Zhu Mingyue had brought this food box with him when he came to town that morning, and the enticing aroma could be smelled even through the wooden box. At first, he thought he was saving it for lunch, but the shop closed early today, so the food box had been with him all the way to the county. It's easy to imagine that this is where it ended up.

Zhu Mingyue entered Nanfeng Pavilion openly and honestly. Perhaps because he was dressed in women's clothing and attracted too much attention, he was stopped after taking a few steps.

"Young lady, this is the Nanfeng Pavilion. You've come to the wrong place, haven't you?"

The two men who stopped him were dressed in revealing clothing. They squinted and stared at his face with a half-smile, their eyes scrutinizing him.

Zhu Mingyue's alarm bells rang. He recognized the two people in front of him; they seemed to be people he had met at the Nanfeng Pavilion. He quickly lowered his head and whispered, "You've come to the right place."

"Didn't come to the wrong place?" The two men exchanged a glance, full of doubt. It was extremely rare for a young lady to visit the Nanfeng Pavilion, and besides, although the woman in front of them had covered most of her face, she still couldn't hide the beauty revealed in her eyes and brows.

It's true that they submit to men for survival, but they are also men themselves, and their orientation is mostly towards women. It's hard not to be tempted by such a stunning beauty. In that case, what's the difference between them and lambs to the slaughter?

"This is not a place for you. Go back now!" one of them frowned and advised in a low voice.

If he hadn't come to see Xu Linguang, he wouldn't have even stepped onto this street, let alone entered the Nanfeng Pavilion. The few days he spent here left a considerable shadow in his heart.

However, just as he was about to speak...

A very familiar voice came from afar.